Messing With The Scenario
by Knife Hand
Summary: AU. Starting in 2017, Shinji is called home to fight the Angels now threatening Tokyo 3; however he already has a home where he is in charge. Shinji's move to the fortress city changes the very fabric of the city and NERV. Chapter 9 Up
1. Chapter 1

Title: Messing With The Scenario  
  
Author: Knife Hand  
  
Feedback: Constructive feedback appreciated, flames unappreciated  
  
Spoilers: All of Neon Genesis Evangelion (just covering my basses)  
  
Rating: PG-13  
  
Disclaimer: Do not own Eva. I would buy it but I am broke.  
  
Summary: AU. One interpretation of the series where Shinji has a backbone. Set in 2017, because the Angel attacks are delayed for two years.  
  
AN: Major deviation from Eva Cannon. Timeline elements ignored. Characters are OOC for the series. If you don't like this then stop reading now. You have been warned.  
  
AN2: In this Rei is not a Clone and she is not related to Shinji in any way.  
  
" " denotes speech  
  
' ' denotes thought  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Shinji Ikari wandered through the barracks of the UNSF Junior Military Academy, watching his friends and comrades. When his father had abandoned him to his uncle, his uncle had decided that he did not want Shinji either, so he enrolled him in the Academy. That had been when he was five, and now at sixteen, he was lean, fit and hard, moving with confidence and grace. Around him were his classmates, those boys and girls, now young men and women, who had arrived here at the same time as Shinji and had trained with him. Shinji was dressed in a simple green jumpsuit, while his friends were in various states of dress, from their birthday suits to full dress uniform. It was Sunday and as a result, most of the class had free time and were relaxing, dressed similarly to Shinji.  
  
As Shinji wandered, his own little ritual to think and relax, a younger girl, around the age of nine, came racing up to him. He recognised that she was currently assigned to the Postmasters office.  
  
"Letter for you, Sir." She said smartly, snapping off a salute.  
  
"Thank you. Carry on." Shinji said as he took the letter and the girl ran off about her duties.  
  
Shinji took a look at the letter and sighed.  
  
"What's the matter Shinji? Another planning "exercise" for the generals?" someone nearby asked.  
  
"No, Michelle. Temporary transfer orders." Shinji replied.  
  
"Where are we going, sir?" Michelle asked, her bearing changing from a sixteen year old girl to a battle hardened warrior.  
  
"Nowhere, Corporal. WE are going nowhere." Shinji replied, returning to his room to pack.  
  
"Need a hand, Colonel?" came a German accented voice from the door.  
  
"No thanks, Major." Shinji replied to Major Hans Soyru.  
  
"So, Shinji, where you going?" Hans asked.  
  
"Detached assignment to NERV." Shinji replied.  
  
Hans slowly nodded his head, his cousin was involved with them.  
  
"You know any time you need us, the Regiment will be there." Hans said.  
  
"I know, Hans. Unfortunately I don't think that the Regiment will be of help. This is not open combat." Shinji said.  
  
"You know you can take an aide?" Hans said.  
  
"I know. If she'll go, I'm taking Lieutenant Elizabeth Waters." Shinji said.  
  
"Liz? Good choice." Hans said. "I'll go talk to her."  
  
Hans turned to retrieve Liz, when he was stoped by Shinji's voice.  
  
"Who's you cousin, in case I run into them?"  
  
"Her name is Asuka. She's our age, she got chosen by NERV about the same time as I came here. I haven't seen her since."  
  
With that Hans left and Shinji got back to packing.  
  
********  
  
Shinji walked off the platform towards the rendezvous point specified in his orders. Lieutenant Waters walked crisply beside Shinji, long dark blond hair, kept in a ponytail, fell down her back and her skin was fair but suntanned, while her chocolate brown eyes surveyed the area. Both Shinji and Liz were dressed in full dress uniforms, with their sidearms evident and duffle bags thrown over their shoulders, left for Shinji and right for Liz, so as not to impede their shooting arms. The pair reached the rendezvous point and they were startled by a blue sports car coming screeching up and parking right in front of them. Instinctively they had put their hands on their pistols when the screech had started, and they now removed them as the door opened.  
  
"Shinji Ikari? Name's Misato Katsuragi. Who's the girl?" the purple haired woman in the car asked.  
  
"That's Colonel Shinji Ikari, Captain. And the 'Girl' is my personal aide, Lieutenant Elizabeth Waters." Shinji snapped in a commanding voice.  
  
"Yes, sir. Sorry, sir." Misato replied.  
  
Shinji and Liz got quickly into the car and Misato drove off at a slightly more sedate speed than she had arrived. The long ride from Tokyo 2 to NERV was done in silence except for a call at the beginning where Misato called to check on Liz's security status, which was cleared with an identification code phrase from Shinji. The car parked in the car-train port and the train began its way down. They broke into the Geofront, the funnelled and reflected sunlight shining from vents in the ceiling, nestled among clusters of gigantic floodlights, shining down on a pyramid shaped building amid lush gardens and parks, with a large, man-made lake as a centrepiece.  
  
"Impressive." Shinji said.  
  
As they disembarked from the train, the car being parked by an attendant, the group was met by an escort of section two agents.  
  
"The Commander wants to see Ikari." One of the suited men said.  
  
Shinji, with Liz falling in just behind him, was escorted to the Commander's office.  
  
"Wait here, Lieutenant." Shinji ordered, before entering to see the Commander.  
  
Shinji entered the Commander's office, a cavernous office with a massive desk at the far end. Shinji crossed the floor and stood at attention in front of the desk.  
  
"Colonel Shinji Ikari reporting for temporary detached assignment with NERV." Shinji said formally.  
  
"It's been a while." Commander Ikari said from behind his desk.  
  
Shinji stood silently at attention, ignoring the biting comment from his father.  
  
"Well, interesting. We'll have to take care of the girl, but." Gendo Ikari began.  
  
The Commander was silenced by a Desert Eagle .44 pistol being pointed at his temple, Shinji have jumped over the desk while he had been talking.  
  
"If you ever threaten anyone under my command again, I will kill you. The Lieutenant is here as my personal aide and thus has total security clearance and is under protection by the UN charter that created NERV. Touch her and NERV can be dissolved." Shinji threatened. "Do you understand."  
  
Gendo nodded.  
  
"Very well." Shinji said, skirting the desk and returning his pistol to its holster. "What is my assignment here?"  
  
Commander Ikari outlined the Evangelions, the Angels and how Shinji was able to pilot an Eva.  
  
"Understood. Whenever I am inside an Eva, Lieutenant Waters will be on hand. She will have specific orders to terminate any internal threats to either my or any other pilots safety." Shinji commented, before turning to leave. "It had been an experience, father."  
  
Shinji closed the door behind him, and Gendo let out a sigh. This was not the first time someone had threatened his life, however Shinji was the first who was capable of achieving it.  
  
"This will certainly interfere with SELEE's scenario." Gendo said with a smirk.  
  
********  
  
Kensuke sat at his desk trying to hack into the school database to find out about the new students. He had already cracked the database, the problem was that these files had extra protection. Kensuke Aida was the schools resident Hacker and military nut, he had been since he was twelve. He cracked his neck and tried to push up the glasses that he no longer needed, having gotten laser eye surgery at fifteen. The door opened and the new students came in. The boy was slightly taller then Kensuke, with brown hair and blue eyes. His bearing exuded confidence and he somehow made the black slacks and white shit of the school uniform seem to be more. The girl had dark blond hair in a ponytail. Her Caucasian complexion was slightly concealed by an even tan and her eyes were chocolate brown. She moved with a fluid grace that made her exotic but she was controlled, in both composure and movement, however she seemed slightly uncomfortable in the dress of the female school uniform. The pair were talking quietly in English, the girl having an accent that he could not quite place. The rest of the class came in by ones and twos, until the Sensei arrived. Hikari, the class representative, stood to do her "Stand, bow, sit" routine, but she was interrupted.  
  
"Atten-hut." The boy called.  
  
The new students, and surprisingly, Rei Ayanami, the blue haired girl who never talked to anyone, all snapped to rigid attention, surprising the entire class.  
  
"At ease." The new boy directed to the new girl, before turning to Rei. "As you were."  
  
Rei then sat down. The two new students now stood with their feet shoulder width apart and their hands behind their backs.  
  
"Perhaps you would like to introduce yourselves." The Sensei said.  
  
"My name is Shinji Ikari." The boy said simply.  
  
"Liz Waters. I'm an Australian Ex-pat." the girl said, explaining her accent.  
  
They both sat down and the Sensei began his lesion, telling about his experiences during the Second Impact, the same topic he had been preaching for the last four years. Kensuke had a distinct impression that they had something to do with the military and he wanted to find out, even if it was only that they went to one of those military schools. With a smile, he began typing, searching for information.  
  
TBC 


	2. Chapter 2

Title: Messing With The Scenario  
  
Author: Knife Hand  
  
Feedback: Constructive feedback appreciated, flames unappreciated  
  
Spoilers: All of Neon Genesis Evangelion (just covering my basses)  
  
Rating: PG-13  
  
Disclaimer: Do not own Eva. I would buy it but I am broke.  
  
Summary: AU. One interpretation of the series where Shinji has a backbone. Set in 2017, because the Angel attacks are delayed for two years.  
  
AN: Major deviation from Eva Cannon. Timeline elements ignored. Characters are OOC for the series. If you don't like this then stop reading now. You have been warned.  
  
AN2: In this Rei is not a Clone and she is not related to Shinji in any way.  
  
" " denotes speech  
  
' ' denotes thought  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Shinji dropped down behind cover and took a second to servery his surroundings. He was dressed in green camouflage, with field survival pack on his back and a P90 in his hands. Taking cover in the woods around him were his friends, members of his Regiment. As he changed the empty clip for a full one, bullets ripped into the top of the log he was sheltering behind, bringing the distinctive smell of gunfire. Using hand signals he ordered the laying down of covering fire while he takes a look. As his team mates fired, Shinji popped his head over the log then drops back down.  
  
"Damn. They got a machine gun nest set up." He muttered. "Hans. Take John and try working around the left. We'll keep 'em busy."  
  
Major Soyru nodded and made his way off to the left with a private. Shinji counted to fifteen in his head then began opening fire on the nest while keeping under cover, along with the rest of the squad around him. The fire fight went on for a few minutes, before the nest exploded thanks to a carefully placed Grenade. Shinji lead the squad up the hill to the ruined nest, where they met up with Hans and a seriously wounded private.  
  
"Medic." Shinji called.  
  
Hans called all of Echo Company, First Battalion to converge on the hill, while ordering the other companies to their individual assignments. First Battalion's mission was to keep the enemy occupied in the jungle, while Second Battalion took out targets within the enemy's base. Echo Company converged quickly and efficiently on the hill, taking positions ready to absorb the counter attack expected by the enemy to reclaim the ammunition cache that the ring of nests that had just been naturalised had protected. The enemy charged up the hill firing at the new defenders, who fired back remorselessly. Grenades exploded, wither tossed up or down the hill. The air filled with the smell of cordite and hot metal. Shinji noticed a muzzle flash from a seemingly empty area and felt white hot pain in his right upper arm. As he fought the pain, he noticed a sniper where the bullet had come from, almost invisible in his camouflage cloak but in the open.  
  
"Sniper in the open." He called, indicating to the position of the sniper.  
  
As he fell to his knees in pain, the sniper was mercilessly cut down in hail of bullets.  
  
"Medic." He heard someone call as the pain in his arm flared.  
  
********  
  
Shinji jerked up in bed, rubbing the old wound on his upper right arm. He still dreamed of that battle, even though it happened two years ago.  
  
'Well, it could have been worse. I could have dreamed of her.' he thought bitterly.  
  
He sighed as he paced the small guest quarters in the Geofront, thinking that he would have to get permanent accommodation for Liz and himself. Shinji remembered vividly the history lesson which had explained the unique nature of the Academy.  
  
When it had started in the late 1980's, the Academy was like all other military schools, training students with military discipline and everything they would need should they choose to go into the military, although they only took the best candidates as students. Unfortunately during the massive wars that immediately followed Second Impact, right at the beginning of the year 2000, things changed. The UN, desperate for soldiers to try and regain peace and a semblance of control, at first started taking the best of the oldest students and transferring them into combat units, which worked for about two months.  
  
In late 2000 they were sending entire senior classes off to join combat units. Early in 2001 they had such a shortage that they sent an entire class off together into combat, where they worked well and completed their objectives with many less casualties than projected, due to the close friendships and comradeship of the members. By the end of 2001, with the wars dieing down, the Academy had changed its structure. Each class acted like a Regiment, providing their own officers and NCOs, and when they reached the age of eleven they began going on missions, usually low risk, supervised, peacekeeping missions at first but progressively getting more difficult as they aged. By fourteen they were going on full combat missions and by graduation, at eighteen, they were the best of the best, going on missions that other units would not survive.  
  
Knowing he would not get back to sleep, Shinji dressed in a green jumpsuit and started wandering around the Geofront. The jumpsuit had his Colonel insignia and the Academy combat unit patch on the shoulder. Everyone recognised, and feared, the Academy combat unit patch, which consisted of the double ringed mushroom cloud, created by the N2 mine, behind a grinning skull bracketed by an old style, bolt action rifle and a stylised flaming sword. It was said that nothing stuck fear in the hearts of enemies more than Academy soldiers. There was even a story of a unit that marched through the centre of a live, full scale artillery barrage to avoid contact with Academy troops. The story, almost certainly untrue, claimed that the unit lost ninety-five percent of its troops, and the survivors, although they were all injured and shell shocked, claimed that the barrage was preferable to the alternative.  
  
Shinji found an empty combat training room in the complex and began doing Tai-Chi. A short time later he was joined by Liz and the NERV soldiers, who had found him practicing alone, were impressed by their synchronised movements. Finishing a Kata, Shinji looked at the time, realising that he had been practicing for almost two hours, and it was almost time to leave for school. Shinji returned to his chambers to change into his new school uniform. His standing orders were to attend classes, as were Lieutenant Waters, however he was also ordered to attend a synchronisation test after school. As he made his way to the Tokyo 3 High School, accompanied by Liz, his thoughts were filled of a blue haired civilian with military bearings, a giant robot and a spectre from his past who had died in his arms.  
  
********  
  
Shinji stood up and walked out of the dressing room, now dressed in his new Plugsuit. He met up with Liz in the hall and they started towards the test chamber.  
  
"She would have loved you in that." Liz said quietly.  
  
"Yah. She would have." Shinji replied sadly.  
  
They kept walking until Liz noticed something off in a side corridor.  
  
"Blue at 9 o'clock." Liz whispered.  
  
Shinji turned and saw the blue haired girl from class, wearing an outfit similar to Shinji's, walking down a parallel corridor a few feet from them.  
  
"Atten-hut."  
  
The girl snapped to attention and turned to face Shinji and Liz.  
  
"What's you name, soldier." Shinji ordered.  
  
"Ayanami, Sir. Rei Ayanami." The girl responded.  
  
"Current orders, Ayanami?" Shinji asked.  
  
"Report to Dr. Akagi for prolonged activation test, sir." Rei replied.  
  
"Designation?"  
  
"First Child, currently assigned to pilot Unit 00, sir."  
  
"Carry on."  
  
"Yes, sir." Rei said, saluting.  
  
Shinji returned the salute and Rei walked off.  
  
"Interesting." Shinji said as he proceeded on his way to the synchronisation test.  
  
Shinji spent the next several hours in the Evangelion designated Unit 01, learning all the basics of movement, unit specs and armament capabilities. After the synchronisation test, Shinji reported to the Commander's office, saluting as he stood before the Commander's desk.  
  
"Report." Gendo ordered.  
  
"Activation and Synchronisation achieved without incident. Lieutenant Ibuki reports 34.3452% synchronisation ratio with Unit 01." Shinji replied.  
  
"Very well. Anything else, Colonel?"  
  
"Yes, sir. Lieutenant Waters and myself require permanent accommodation. For interests of security, I recommend that we be located in close proximity to the First Child."  
  
"Any reasoning behind this recommendation?"  
  
"Yes, sir. If the First Child and myself were located in close proximity, there would be fewer locations that would be required to be secured by surveillance and security personnel." Shinji replied.  
  
"Understood. See Misato Katsuragi at 6:30AM in her office for the address and unit numbers."  
  
"Understood. Report to Captain Katsuragi's office at zero six thirty for housing assignments."  
  
"Dismissed."  
  
Shinji saluted again, turned and left his father's office.  
  
TBC. 


	3. Chapter 3

Title: Messing With The Scenario  
  
Author: Knife Hand  
  
Feedback: Constructive feedback appreciated, flames unappreciated  
  
Spoilers: All of Neon Genesis Evangelion (just covering my basses)  
  
Rating: PG-13  
  
Disclaimer: Do not own Eva. I would buy it but I am broke.  
  
Summary: AU. One interpretation of the series where Shinji has a backbone. Set in 2017, because the Angel attacks are delayed for two years.  
  
AN: Major deviation from Eva Cannon. Timeline elements ignored. Characters are OOC for the series. If you don't like this then stop reading now. You have been warned.  
  
AN2: In this Rei is not a Clone and she is not related to Shinji in any way.  
  
" " denotes speech  
  
' ' denotes thought  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Rei walked home from school sadly, not that it showed. She had thought that maybe she could belong again in an environment she knew, but Ikari and Waters had been absent from school today, sparking doubt. Rei longed for the military life. She had been born on a military base, her father had been an officer stationed there while her mother had been a base nurse. When she was six months old, her parents had died in a car accident off base. The base CO decided, with the approval of all base personnel, that the base would adopt her. Everyone saw her as the base's mascot and treated her like one of the troops. Rei was saluting before she could walk, and her first word, said to the base CO, was "Sir."  
  
It had been amazing to see a four year old Rei, in a miniature version of full dress uniform, dressing down new recruits to the base because their uniforms were not up to scratch. Several months prior to her fifth birthday, while the base CO and the senior officers were discussing wether to send Rei to the Academy or train her themselves, it had been discovered that she was the First Child, and she had been shipped off, under the orders of high ranking Generals, to Tokyo 3 and NERV. For the next three years she had spent all her free time with the soldiers stationed in Tokyo 3, until Commander Ikari had ordered her not to associate with them, and told the soldiers that any found interacting with the First Child other than in the line of duty would be permanently removed from the facility. The implication was clear that they would not be getting a transfer.  
  
She had been trapped in a lonely world since that day. None of the students understood her background or training, not even the supposed military nut Kensuke Aida. Now that Ikari and Waters had arrived one and a half weeks ago, even taking up accommodation in the same building as her, she had hope for someone who would understand her. Their absence, which was unrelated to NERV activates, had her worried and sad at the prospect that they had left.  
  
"Halt and identify yourself." A voice said, breaking Rei out of her thoughts.  
  
The person who challenged her was her own age, dressed in combat fatigues with a P90 pointed at her, the Academy combat unit patch prominent on his shoulder, along with a Corporal's rank chevrons.  
  
"Rei Ayanami, Corporal. This is my place of residence." She said formally.  
  
"My apologies, Sir. The Colonel gave you clearance to enter. He says he'll talk to you later." The Corporal said.  
  
(AN: I know that officially that female superior officers are to be called Ma'am, however in the Academy they make no such distinctions, thus all superiors are referred to as Sir. This is not gender biased; it is simply so that females do not feel segregated by having a gender based title that distinguishes them from the male officers.)  
  
"What is the Colonel's name?"  
  
"Shinji Ikari, Sir."  
  
"Understood." Rei said, as she passed the sentry and began to climb to her apartment.  
  
As Rei climbed the stairs, she noticed a lot of activity going on around her. She noticed several other sentries around the building, as well as three other buildings in the immediate vicinity. There was a lot of construction work happening to the buildings, both apparent renovations to the rooms and structural work to the buildings. She even caught sight of a sniper nest on the roof of one of the other buildings. As she entered her apartment, Rei noticed two things. Firstly that Ikari was there waiting for her and, secondly, that furniture and electronics had been added to her room.  
  
"Ayanami, sit down." Shinji said.  
  
He was sitting at her small dining room table, and he indicated to the chair opposite him. Rei slowly took the seat, sitting stiffly.  
  
"I have been reviewing your dossier. Impressive. In fact if you had of joined the Academy like General Shuzu, your base CO, was considering, you would have been in my Regiment." Shinji said, flipping closed her record.  
  
Rei sat in silence, wondering where Shinji was going with this.  
  
"Assuming that everything with NERV was over today, what would you want to do with your life?"  
  
"Sir?" Rei said, staring into his eyes for a second. "Military, sir. Combat infantry or fighter pilot."  
  
Shinji was quiet for a few minutes, looking her over, then he smiled.  
  
"Welcome aboard." He said.  
  
"Sir?"  
  
"My senior officers and I have been reviewing your career dossier ever since I asked you for your name at NERV HQ. I just wanted to talk to you before making my final decision." Shinji explained.  
  
"What decision, Sir."  
  
"I'm offering you a place with the Regiment. This is your chance to get back into the military, Rei. What do you say?"  
  
"Sir. Yes, sir."  
  
"Good. Ok, Lieutenant Liz Waters will show you around and introduce you to a lot of the troopers. In the next few weeks we'll do some testing to determine your rank. We have our own expectations. In the interim, you will be formally addressed as Pilot in lieu of a rank." Shinji ordered.  
  
"Understood, sir."  
  
"One other thing, Pilot. When we aren't in uniform, we generally go by first name basis. When we assign you, get to know your team-mates, because they may save your life, and will expect you to return the favour." Shinji said as he rose from the table. "I'll send Liz by as soon as she's free."  
  
With that Shinji left. Rei collapsed on her bed.  
  
'I'm back. I'm somewhere I understand.' She thought as she slipped into a relieved sleep.  
  
*********  
  
Shinji strode across the school yard. As NERV regulations insisted that all NERV personnel under 18 attend school, he was still attending, along with Liz and Rei, who had joined the Regiment a few weeks ago. When he reached the disturbance, the Class Representative, Hikari, was standing behind Rei and Liz, who seemed to be protecting her. In front of them, as if to protect his soldiers, stood Touji and Kensuke, his classmates. Kensuke seemed to be the consummate computer geek and military nut, while Touji was one of the best athletes in the school. The unusual group was facing off against seven large, older boys.  
  
"What is going on here?" Shinji demanded in his commander voice.  
  
"Nothing. Right guys?" the leader of the older boys said.  
  
"Yah." His friends replied.  
  
"Lieutenant?" Shinji asked Liz.  
  
"Sir. These, boys, were harassing miss Horaki in a vulgar manner. When Ayanami and myself interjected, they caught me off guard when the leader backhanded me as I was inspecting miss Horaki for injuries. At this point Suzuhara and Aida interrupted my line of attack. This all happened just before you arrived, Sir." Liz reported formally, making the word 'boys' seem like a grave insult.  
  
"Ayanami. Do you corroborate?" Shinji asked.  
  
"Yes, Colonel." Rei said.  
  
"Miss Horaki, if you would please inform the Principal." Shinji said before turning to the older boys, as Hikari ran to the Principal's office. "What's you name?"  
  
The leader, who Shinji had pointed to, smirked.  
  
"Maki." He sneered.  
  
"Alright, Maki. Under the UN Military Charter of 2001 and the Japanese Military and Penal Codes, you are under arrest for the assault of a member of the United Nations Military and an attached member of NERV. You will be detained at the nearest military facility, which happens to be the NERV Brig, until a UN Military Council can be convened. Lieutenant Waters, Pilot Ayanami, detain mister Maki until the MP's arrive. Mister Suzuhara, Mister Aida, please assist them in the detention of the other boys until the Principal arrives. If they try to escape, disable them." Shinji ordered, the last part to Liz and Rei.  
  
Shinji then pulled out his mobile and called for a squad to act as MP's and bring Maki to the NERV Brig and then he called Captain Katsuragi to inform her of the inbound prisoner. When the Principal arrived, Shinji related the events, with Liz and Rei filling in specific detail about the older boys' comments. The Principal expelled Maki and suspended the other students for a month. The expulsion of Maki was for show as he was under arrest. When the squad of MP's arrived, Major Soyru had taken them from Lieutenant Waters' Platoon, they roughly took Maki away for detention. When he arrived a he had inexplicably sustained several large bruises across his chest and a few broken ribs. Somehow, after the NERV staff received an incident report, all records of the injuries disappeared.  
  
After a quick discussion with the school Principal, and another quick call to Major Hans Soyru, Shinji arranged for Rei to have a two weeks of field training, with Charlie Company, First Battalion, starting the following Saturday, as they had done as much training and testing as possible at their current Headquarters. The next day, Friday, the events that had transpired the previous afternoon spread through the school like wildfire, particularly that Shinji, Liz and Rei were in the military as well as Shinji and Liz's rank. Hikari, as thanks for protecting her; Touji and Kensuke all began to forge friendships with them. The six of them had lunch together, bonded by the events of the previous day, and they had many visits from victims of Maki's gang and their constant bullying.  
  
"Call me sometime and we'll go shopping." Hikari called as the parted after school.  
  
"Maybe I'll bring some friends." Lis called back, with a gleam in her eye.  
  
"Great. Now I'm going to lose half my Regiment for a day." He groaned, half for his loss and half for the horror of the sales assistants as they faced the females of his Regiment on a shopping spree.  
  
'Even after battle, women can not curb their impulse to shop.' He thought ruefully as they made their way back to buildings being metamorphosed into the new Headquarters and Barracks of the Regiment.  
  
TBC. 


	4. Chapter 4

Title: Messing With The Scenario  
  
Author: Knife Hand  
  
Feedback: Constructive feedback appreciated, flames unappreciated  
  
Spoilers: All of Neon Genesis Evangelion (just covering my basses)  
  
Rating: PG-13  
  
Disclaimer: Do not own Eva. I would buy it but I am broke.  
  
Summary: AU. One interpretation of the series where Shinji has a backbone. Set in 2017, because the Angel attacks are delayed for two years.  
  
AN: Major deviation from Eva Cannon. Timeline elements ignored. Characters are OOC for the series. If you don't like this then stop reading now. You have been warned.  
  
AN2: In this Rei is not a Clone and she is not related to Shinji in any way.  
  
" " denotes speech  
  
' ' denotes thought  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Shinji looked down and got lost in her pale green eyes. She smiled up at him from where she lay, with her head resting in his lap, as he stroked her long, silky blond hair. He rested back against the back of the couch, dressed only in a pair of boxer shorts, while she was stretched out covered only by a bed sheet wrapped around her like a mock toga. They were on weekend liberty in a small town near the Academy, where Shinji had rented a hotel room, which they had not left.  
  
"I love you, Shinji." She whispered, a mild British accent flavouring her voice.  
  
"I love you too, Katherine. I'll love you forever." He replied.  
  
As he leaned down to kiss her, everything changed. The hotel room melted from around them, revealing a night shrouded desert illuminated by the occasional flare. Shinji, knelling on the sand, was now dressed in desert camouflage. Cradled in his lap was Katherine, however it was not the same as it had been in the hotel room. The lower part of her desert camouflage shirt was dark with blood, as Shinji kept his pressure on her stomach with his hands, vainly trying to stem the flow of blood and prevent her intestines spilling out the gaping wound.  
  
"Medic." He called desperately, as bullets flew and mortar rounds exploded.  
  
The medic came rushing over, quickly looked over Katherine, shook his head and moved on.  
  
"No." Shinji sobbed.  
  
"Never forget, Shinji. You made me happy. I love you." She whispered before finally dieing.  
  
"NO!!!!!!!!!" Shinji screamed, as he suicidally charged the enemy, looking for vengeance.  
  
Major Hans Soyru, as second in command, quickly took charge, ordering covering fire and support for Shinji as he charged the enemy bunker.  
  
********  
  
Shinji shot upright, his sleeping bag bunching around his waist, his body covered in sweat. Even after eight months, it was hard to think of Katherine without pain. He was her CO, her lover, her Love. It had been his responsibility to see she lived, the one thing he had failed to do for her. Shinji wiped the sweat before getting dressed. As he exited the tent he met up with Hans.  
  
"You look like shit." His second in command observed. "You dreamt about her again, didn't you?"  
  
"Yah." Shinji said quietly. "Anyway. How is Ayanami doing?"  
  
They had been on the field training exercise for just over a week, and Rei had proven herself to be a capable commander of small teams and was excellent at surgical strikes. She was also shaping up to be a decent sniper.  
  
"Not bad actually. She's out with Water's Platoon. Liz wants to see if she can command a full Platoon, so she's out there with them as an observer. They are against the Mad Russian's Platoon." Hans said.  
  
"You put Rei against Peter? Are you nuts?" Shinji exclaimed. "She'll never win."  
  
"Maybe not, but it is a better test of how long it takes for her to lose and how she acts when she knows she has lost. I wish I could see her reaction to some of his manoeuvres." The Major commented.  
  
"Colonel. Flash Comms traffic from Tokyo 3." The base camp radio operator said, handing Shinji the message.  
  
"Shit. They detected an Angel heading for NERV. Unit 00 is being retrofitted so I'll be going solo on this." Shinji said. "A chopper will be here in ten. When I get back, I'll take Major Sam Hancock in Liz's place. She should be able to hand any problems."  
  
Hans turned away, running his hand through his dark, earthy red hair as Shinji re-entered his tent to prepare for his trip back to the city.  
  
********  
  
Shinji entered the command centre of NERV with Major Hancock by his side, her steely grey eyes and the long scar down her cheek from her coal black hair made her seem formidable.  
  
"Generals." He said formally.  
  
"Colonel. What are you doing here?" one of the Generals asked.  
  
"Waiting to see if I get to take that thing in hand to hand." Shinji said, gesturing to the main screen where the image of the Third Angel was displayed.  
  
Shinji watched impassively as the UN Forces attacked the Angel. He analysed very quickly that the conventional forces stood no chance against this enemy.  
  
"Interesting." He said as the monitors cleared from the N2 mine explosion to reveal the Angel still intact.  
  
"Well Ikari, looks like you get a shot at it." A General said to the Commander, after they had cursed the Angel for surviving the explosion.  
  
"No, now I got a shot at it. Major, you know what to do. I'll be down in the cage after I change." Shinji said.  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"Generals. I believe you already know Colonel Ikari, pilot of Evangelion Unit 01." Gendo said, smirking behind his hands, held in his patented "I'm a bastard - fear me" pose.  
  
The Generals, knowing Shinji's reputation, were not sure weather to be relieved or scared that he was an Eva pilot.  
  
********  
  
Rei and her Platoon ghosted through the forest. She had ordered scout, flanking and rear guard fire teams to be on the alert. Hearing the now distinctive splatter of a paintball, she dropped to the ground, ordering her troops to do the same.  
  
"First Squad, cover that position." She ordered indicating to the firing enemy. "Bring in the flankers. I want one fire team from third squad to circle around and take them from behind, the other fire team on me. Second, fourth and sixth squads, form up over there ready for an attack."  
  
This time she indicated opposite the incoming fire.  
  
"Fifth, I want you covering the flanks in fire teams."  
  
Silent fire raged as first squad engaged the enemy. Half a minute later, intense fire came from the opposite direction as the main assault commenced, running strait into the massed firepower of Rei's troops. The original fire fight died down, leaving first and third squads free, having take two casualties. Rei ordered third and first squads to box the enemy in on the flanks while fifth squad circled in from their previous flanking position to the rear of their enemy, trapping them. As they mopped up the trapped remnants of Lieutenant Peter Kelskov's Platoon, 'killing' them, after which they were all to return to camp for lunch before beginning again, Liz walked up to Rei with a smile.  
  
"How did you know he would split his forces like that?" Liz asked.  
  
"Seemed logical. The rate of fire from the initial attack was intense but all over the place, like a small number pretending to be a large number. It was obviously intended to make the enemy believe that was the main attack, thus making them commit their forces while the real attack took them from behind." Rei said.  
  
"Amazing. In the field the enemy always falls for that one the first time. Alright after lunch we'll reverse it. You have to find and attack Peter's Platoon." Liz said.  
  
Suddenly in the distance there was a bright flash and a double ringed mushroom cloud, rising from roughly the direction of Tokyo 3. Confused, Liz switched her radio to the command frequency.  
  
"HQ, this is Omega One, comeback. Over." She said.  
  
"Receiving Omega 1, this is HQ. Over." came Hans' voice over the radio.  
  
"Any Intel in the N2 explosion, HQ? Over."  
  
"Oh, that. That's probably just the UN regulars dropping one on the Angel. Over." Hans said.  
  
"ANGEL?!?!" Rei exclaimed.  
  
"HQ, why didn't the Colonel inform Pilot Ayanami of the incoming? Over." Liz asked.  
  
"Unit 00 is on inactive status, Omega One. It is being refitted so the Colonel went it alone. Said he was taking Major Hancock as his temporary Aide. Over." Hans reported.  
  
"Understood, HQ. We're returning for chow. See you in twenty. Omega One over and out."  
  
Liz switched off her radio and turned to the two Platoons.  
  
"Alright boys and girls, back to camp for chow."  
  
TBC. 


	5. Chapter 5

Title: Messing With The Scenario  
  
Author: Knife Hand  
  
Feedback: Constructive feedback appreciated, flames unappreciated  
  
Spoilers: All of Neon Genesis Evangelion (just covering my basses)  
  
Rating: PG-13  
  
Disclaimer: Do not own Eva. I would buy it but I am broke.  
  
Summary: AU. One interpretation of the series where Shinji has a backbone. Set in 2017, because the Angel attacks are delayed for two years.  
  
AN: Major deviation from Eva Cannon. Timeline elements ignored. Characters are OOC for the series. If you don't like this then stop reading now. You have been warned.  
  
AN2: In this Rei is not a Clone and she is not related to Shinji in any way.  
  
" " denotes speech  
  
' ' denotes thought  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
The crushing pressure of extreme acceleration was halted by the violent jolt of extreme deceleration. If it weren't for the major buffering effect of fluid compression provided by the LCL, Shinji would have been crushed flatter than a pancake. After the jolt that stoped the Eva, Shinji surveyed the battlefield. Around a hundred yards away down the street stood the Angel. He felt the final restraints release him and he walked slowly clear of the Eva lift.  
  
"Captain, retract the catapult." Shinji ordered.  
  
"Huh?" Misato said.  
  
"It'll just get in my way." Shinji said.  
  
Shinji heard the catapult retract and the armoured shutters close. Settling into a fighting stance, Shinji waited. After a few seconds, Unit 01 gave the Angel the universal "Bring it on" hand sign, which brokered no reaction from the Angel. Shrugging, which is quite a sight on an Eva, Shinji decided to try something else, and Unit 01 gave the Angel the finger. After a minute, Unit 01 took another few steps towards the Angel and repeated the "Bring it on" hand sign. This time the Angel seemed to understand and charged.  
  
The Angel led with a right, telegraphing its energy spear at the same time. Unit 01 dodged the spear, grabbing the Angel's right arm with its left and delivering a brutal backhand to the Angel's "face" with its right. As the Angel reeled, Unit 01 tried to capitalise with a left jab, but its arm was caught by the Angel, as was the right when it tried a right cross. Now with both arms caught and pulled to the side, Unit 01 seemed trapped.  
  
"I wish I had my Naginata right now." Shinji grunted. "This is going to hurt."  
  
Unit 01 took a half step back for leverage, then ran at the Angel, using its body as a runway, Unit 01 ran up the Angel, supported by its captured arms, and did a back flip. Unlike a normal back flip, Unit 01 did not land on the ground, instead it tucked its legs up and used the rotational momentum to kick the Angel hard in the chest, breaking its grip, throwing it backwards and cracking its core.  
  
"Ouch." Shinji commented blandly.  
  
As Shinji struggled to deal with his, effectively, double dislocated shoulder, the Angel also was recovering. Running at full speed at Unit 01, just before contact, the Angel fired it particle beam weapon from its "eye sockets", blinding and pushing Unit 01 back, then followed immediately with its energy spear, which penetrated Unit 01's side. Unit 01 blocked the other arm and snapped off the energy spear embedded in its side.  
  
Pushing the Angel back with another powerful punch to its core, which cracked even more, Unit 01 pulled out the embedded energy spear and dropped it to the ground. Straitening up, Unit 01 glared at the Angel and then began to run. It did not run strait at the Angel, rather it ran at the building just to the left of the Angel. Just before it reached the building, Unit 01 jumped and, pushing off the building to change its attitude and gain inertial kinetic energy, spin kicked the Angel in the bony protrusion that acted like a face. Continuing the spin, Unit 01 dropped to the ground and swept the Angel's legs out from under it, causing it to fall on its back. taking several steps back, Unit 01 ran at the now prone Angel and jumped into the air, brining is armoured knee down hard onto the fractured core of the Angel, shattering it completely in such a way as to cause an inherent instability in the power output levels, resulting in a massive release of energy as the Angel exploded.  
  
Out of the blazing inferno Unit 01 walked with a deadly grace that was disturbing in a being so large. Apart from major discolouration of its armour and a hole in its side, Unit 01 seemed to be relatively unscathed by the combat.  
  
"Mission completed. Returning via access rout one-niner-seven." Shinji's voice came over the radio.  
  
"Copy that. Good work Shinji." Major Hancock said, being the only one not staring at the main screen in shock.  
  
"And tell them to fix the Progressive Knife deployment system before the next engagement." Shinji replied.  
  
********  
  
The clink of a spoon on glass cut through the noise of the crowd. It had been just over a week since Shinji had defeated the Angel, and now that the retrofit of the buildings was complete and Rei had completed her evaluation, the Regiment was having a party.  
  
"Everyone listen up." Shinji said when the noise had settled. "I have some announcements to make before you all have too much fun."  
  
A peel of laughter rolled through the crowd.  
  
"Firstly, congratulations to you all for the speedy work in the conversion of a bunch of civilian buildings into an effective base." A roar of cheers was the response to this statement. "Alright, quieten down. Second order of business. Lieutenant Dumont, please step forward. Now as Philippe makes his way up, let's get some details out of the way. As some of you know, ever since our last engagement, Bravo Company has been without a company commander, since Captain Baxter was KIA while she was covering the withdrawal of Bravo and Echo Companies."  
  
At this point Lieutenant Dumont arrived at the small stage alongside Shinji.  
  
"Lieutenant, I hereby confer upon you the rank of Captain with all the privileges and responsibilities accordant to that rank." Shinji said, saluting and handing Philippe the Rank Insignia of a Captain.  
  
The new Captain saluted in return and was met with a large cheer.  
  
"Congratulations. Now I know as Company Commander, you have the promotion rights within the Company, however I am pulling rank. As many of you know, Charlie Company has been evaluating a new member of the Regiment. Lieutenant Ayanami, please stand." At Shinji's order, Rei stood, having been seated upon the stage. "I am hereby assigning Lieutenant Ayanami command of second Platoon, Bravo Company. If any members have a problem with this assignment, please see either Captain Dumont, as your former Platoon Leader, or myself. However, I request that first you talk with Charlie Company who participated in the evaluation was games with her, specifically Lieutenant Waters' Platoon who acted under Lieutenant Ayanami's command during the war games.  
  
"One final matter. In the next few weeks, Lieutenant Waters and a civilian by the name of Hikari Horaki will be organising a strategic raid on one of the local malls. All volunteers for this mission should express their interest to Lieutenant Waters. Extra funds will not be provided by the Regiment, use your own pay people. Now have fun. That's an order."  
  
The party lasted long into the night, in the small parkland that was bracketed by the now converted high-rise buildings, and illuminated by hundreds of stand torches. The Regiment Band played a variety of numbers ranging from fast dance numbers from the late nineties, to slow numbers and classical music. Shinji danced with a number of the female soldiers, including Liz Waters, and even shared a slow dance with Rei, before retiring for the night. Being a Colonel came with certain responsibilities.  
  
********  
  
The entire class waited for their arrival. There were various theories floating about as to the reason for Shinji, Rei and Liz's two week absence, although it seemed to be approved by the Principal, which ruled out some of the wilder theories long the lines of participation in drug cartels and abduction by space aliens. Needless to say, everyone was shocked when they simply walked into the classroom, although it was more their outfits that caused the shock than any other factor. All three were dressed in full Class A dress uniforms, perfectly creased and seemingly more at home on the three of them than the school uniform. Shinji's Colonel Insignia, along with Liz and Rei's Lieutenant Insignia were prominent, as well as the distinctly noticed sidearms hanging from the waists of their trousers. What attracted the most attention was their unit patch, the combat patch of the Academy.  
  
"Holy shit. They are Academy!" Kensuke almost shouted.  
  
"Damn." Touji said, considering how Liz and Rei looked in their uniforms and how he had thought he was protecting two Academy Lieutenants from bullies.  
  
Whispers circulated through the room and messages flew through the school system at this development as Shinji, Rei and Liz calmly made their way to their desks.  
  
"Atten-hut." Shinji called as the Sensei enter the room.  
  
The three Academy soldiers stood at attention, while the other class members stood and bowed, Hikari not even bothering to try her "Stand, bow, sit" routine.  
  
"As you were." Shinji said, and the entire class, as one, took their seats for another boring day at school.  
  
********  
  
The midday sun shone brightly down on the tennis court, and the large group of people gathered surrounding three people. Shinji had removed his Uniform's jacket and tie, he had also rolled up the sleaves of his shirt and undone the top button, loosening the collar from his throat. Rei was similarly attired and stood facing Shinji while Liz, still in full uniform, stood off to the side.  
  
"Alright. First to three hits. Ready?" Liz asked, getting affirmative nods from both Shinji and Rei. "Fight."  
  
To those watching, the sight was awe-inspiring. Shinji and Rei seemed to be poetry in motion as they probed for weaknesses in their opponents defences while blocking and parrying incoming attacks. It was three whole minutes before either finally landed a blow, Rei managing to use her agility to quickly duck inside Shinji's defences and land a blow to his sternum. Shinji responded by tightening up his defences and probing harder for gaps in Rei's. After twenty minutes Shinji won the match with three hits to two, having gotten his final due to his greater combat experience and a number of nasty tricks he had picked up on the battlefield. Rei had amazing technique, thanks to her training everyday, however, in the end, it did not match up to Shinji's greater experience and hard learnt lessons. As they walked back up to the school buildings, Shinji and Liz began giving Rei pointers on gaps in her training and abilities that she could exploit in a fight. They left behind them stunned teenagers who returned to their classes glad that they had not crossed the trio. Overnight bullying became a non-event at Tokyo 3 High School for fear that Shinji, Rei and Liz would take offence.  
  
TBC. 


	6. Chapter 6

Title: Messing With The Scenario

Author: Knife Hand

Feedback: Constructive feedback appreciated, flames unappreciated

Spoilers: All of Neon Genesis Evangelion (just covering my basses)

Rating: PG-13

Disclaimer: Do not own Eva. I would buy it but I am broke.

Summary: AU. One interpretation of the series where Shinji has a backbone. Set in 2017, because the Angel attacks are delayed for two years.

AN: Major deviation from Eva Cannon. Timeline elements ignored. Characters are OOC for the series. If you don't like this then stop reading now. You have been warned.

AN2: In this Rei is not a Clone and she is not related to Shinji in any way.

AN3: Sorry about the linebreaks. screwy editing program made me do it.

" " denotes speech

' ' denotes thought

* * *

"What's this?" Shinji asked as Hikari dropped a folder on his school desk.

"My report on last week's 'Strategic Raid'." The Class Rep responded.

Over a month had passed since the party and little of note had occurred in the meantime, except the shopping spree and the growing friendship between Shinji, Rei and Liz, know as the "Academy Trio"; Hikari, the Class Rep; and Kensuke and Touji, called the "Idiot Duo". Together they became know as "The Rat Pack", and although the real meaning of the name was never known, it was generally accepted that it was because, through their own methods, the group could get or do anything in the School. After their first day back, the Academy Trio wore their dark green Academy jumpsuits rather than their Class A Uniforms.

Glancing at Hikari, Shinji reviewed the report.

"Very detailed, Hikari. Let's see. Seven malls raided, one-hundred and seventy-three shops in total, ninety-eight of which were completely sold out. Fifteen hundred shop assistants suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome or Nervous Breakdowns, resulting in twelve store chains instigating 'banned for life' status on all Tokyo 3 High School students and Regiment members." He quickly surmised. "All in all, I'd call that a total success. Good work, Hikari."

"Thank you, sir." Hikari said, giving him a lazy salute and a grin.

"Carry on." Shinji said, returning the salute then shaking his head.

Slowly the entire class were starting to pick up the trimmings of military life, like the salutes and 'Sir'ing. Seemingly by association the entire Rat Pack had become the officers of the class, with Shinji and Hikari, as Class Representative, at the top of the hierarchy, with Liz and Rei blow them, and finally Kensuke and Touji being just above the rest of the class, although Hikari sired Liz, Rei and Shinji. Some students had even gotten a strange 'chain of command' idea and would ask Touji or Kensuke permission to talk to Rei and Liz, and ask them permission to talk to Shinji or Hikari, while others would just talk to whoever they wanted. At this stage, Shinji didn't care, but if the class took the military concept much farther then he would have to start imposing discipline.

"Atten-hut. Principal on deck." Came Kensuke's voice from near the door.

The majority of the class stood at a version of attention, while a few did the more traditional stand and bow routine.

"As you were." the principal said. "Colonel Ikari, if I may have a moment?"

Shinji stood and moved to the door.

"Take care of things till I get back." he said to Hikari as he passed.

Hikari simply nodded and turned back to her work on the computer, which looked like several petitions of possible future class outings, most of which were in what students considered military style. One, formatted differently, was from Rei outlining a proposal for a tour of several historical and cultural museums and memorials. It contained full itinerary listings, availability of all proposed sites and a cost breakdown both per student and overall for the class. That was the style of report he was used to reading rather than the other 'military' reports.

Shinji stepped out of the classroom and stood at parade rest facing the principal. Several of the faculty had started referring to Shinji purely by rank and acted as if he was the head of the class, though the Principal did not take that to the extreme unlike some other staff members.

"Shinji, your Sensei had to go home ill. I was wondering if you would be able to take the class for the rest of the day?"

"Yes, sir. That will be no problem." Shinji replied.

"Very well, um… dismissed."

Shinji turned on his heel and headed back into the classroom. Something amazing happened that afternoon in classroom 2-A. Although the lecture was still on the Second Impact, the class actually paid attention. Shinji outlined the events following the Second Impact from a more global perspective.

He outlined in significant detail the collapse of various Nations under agricultural and economic pressures, the massive wars the plagued the planet. He told of how humanity almost finished the job that Second Impact had started with independent launch of Nuclear ICBM's by sub commanders from both the US and Russia. He then covered the recovery efforts as the world slowly pulled itself back together. In one afternoon, the class learnt more about the echoing effects of Second Impact than in three years of hearing the inanely boring story of an old nobody who had lived in an unimportant part of the country talking about events he had no knowledge of and would never fully comprehend.

* * *

Shinji was drying his hair when there was a knock at the door.

"Enter." He said as he stretched his sore muscles from morning unarmed combat training.

"Lieutenant Ayanami, reporting as ordered." Rei said, after entering the apartment.

"Sit down, Rei." Shinji said.

"Thank you… Shinji." Rei replied.

"How are you adjusting to your new command?"

"Alright, Sir. I got a good Platoon, but they are mostly reserving judgement until we've been through combat. Some of my troops talked to Lieutenants Waters and Kelskov, and that seemed to quell some doubts."

"Good. On to other business. As you may have guessed from training, every member of the Regiment is skilled in a melee weapon. For Example, Major Soyru's weapon of choice is a Bastard Sword. Mine is a Naginata." Shinji said, producing the weapons from brackets on the wall.

The Naginata is a traditional Japanese weapon of the Samurai, a staff with a slightly curved, folded steal blade attached to one end.

"It was determined that you are most suited to the Sai's. Normally you would be issued a brand new set of Sai's." Shinji continued as he retrieved a polished oak box from the table. "If you wish, you can still have a new set, however, I would be grateful and honoured if you would used these."

He opened the box and inside sat a beautiful pair of Sai's, and while not flashy, they held a presence of well used and cared for weapons.

"I would be honoured, Sir." Rei replied, lifting the weapons from the box.

"Take care of them. The belonged to a valuable member of this Regiment who died in combat. Report here tomorrow at seventeen hundred hours for training. Dismissed."

"Yes, Sir." Rei replied, before returning the Sai's to the box, gently lifting it and leaving the room.

Ten minutes later a knock came at Shinji's door.

"Come in, Hans." He said.

Hans entered and looked Shinji up and down.

"Heard you gave Ayanami Her Sai's. Is it true?"

"Yeah." Shinji said sadly.

"Good. They were made to be used. And Katherine wouldn't have wanted you to brood over her." Hand said.

"Not unless she could watch." Shinji said with a slight smile.

Hans left with a slight grin. He knew Shinji would brood, he hadn't stoped mourning yet, but the joke and the gift were good signs.

TBC


	7. Chapter 7

Title: Messing With The Scenario

Author: Knife Hand

Feedback: Constructive feedback appreciated, flames unappreciated

Spoilers: All of Neon Genesis Evangelion (just covering my basses)

Rating: PG-13

Disclaimer: Do not own Eva. I would buy it but I am broke.

Summary: AU. One interpretation of the series where Shinji has a backbone. Set in 2017, because the Angel attacks are delayed for two years.

AN: Major deviation from Eva Cannon. Timeline elements ignored. Characters are OOC for the series. If you don't like this then stop reading now. You have been warned.

AN2: In this Rei is not a Clone and she is not related to Shinji in any way.

" " denotes speech

' ' denotes thought

(Tokyo 3 High School)

"…and after restoration, Germany was one of the first countries to reaffirm their membership to the UN. The major motivation for this was the remembrance of the events of the 1920's and 1930's where a single charismatic leader convinced the German people that they were destined to rule Europe and nearly destroyed Germany." Hans said, finishing his talk.

The class clapped in response. In the almost two months since Shinji had led that first class, the teacher had been 'sick' quite often. In fact it was generally believed he had been either given another class or fired. Shinji taught many of the classes himself, including pre-Second Impact history into the curriculum. Other members of the Regiment spoke on their own Country's history and recovery from the Second Impact, giving cultural perspective that the class had never considered.

"Any questions?" Shinji asked, leaning against a desk.

Several hands raised, and Hans began answering the questions. After a few minutes, Shinji felt his pager vibrate on his belt. Looking at the display he interrupted the student asking another question.

"Attention. There is an emergency. Major, report back and get the Regiment ready. Lieutenants with me. Hikari, get everyone else to the shelters. Stay safe, and remember, tomorrow we start on Ancient Rome." Shinji announced.

The last comment got a cheer. The Colonel, The Major and The two Lieutenants marched through the school corridors, and all the students instantly got two messages from the set of their faces. Stay out of their way and get to the shelters. As soon as they reached the parking lot, Hans jumped in the Humvee they had brought from the Regiment Motor Pool, and speed out of the parking lot.

"Five, four, three, two, one." Shinji started counting at the first sound of a squeal.

As he said one, the blue Renault squealed to a holt directly in front of Rei, Liz and a smirking Shinji.

"Let's go." Shinji said calmly once everyone was in.

(Streets of Tokyo 3)

Unit 01 held the pallet rifle loosely yet firmly in its hands as Shinji scanned the map provided by the Eva's HUD. He was standing inside the elevator building he had launched into, it's door open in front of him. Rei and Unit 00 were approaching from his three o'clock, where the street elevator she had used was located, while the Angel was moving up the road on Shinji's left from six o'clock.

"Shinji! What's the matter with you! Move out!" Misato's voice came screaming through the radio.

"Calm down, Captain, and let the grownups deal with this." He replied before cutting off reception on the voice circuit to Central Dogma.

"Rei. I'll engage in ten seconds. Catch it in a crossfire." Shinji ordered.

"Yes, sir." Came Rei's quiet response.

"Rei, what did I say." He mock chided.

"Sorry, S…Shinji."

"That's better."

Unit 01 swept into action, the pallet rifle and half of Unit 01's head came round the corner and began firing bursts into the Angel. The Angel, looking something like a floating sausage, reared up its front end, and extended two glowing tentacles from protrusions in near the 'front' of its body, as Unit 01's rounds began to slam into it. Reeling from the impacts, which caused insignificant damage, the Angel began to advance on Unit 01, when another volley slammed into it from the street to its right. Unit 01 slipped back behind the shelter of the building.

"Save it, Rei. Rifles are useless. I'm gonna take it hand to hand. Back me up." Shinji ordered, dropping the rifle and engaging his Prog-knife.

"Rodger."

The hail of bullets stopped, and Shinji waited, watching the shadow of the floating Angel's approach. When he judged the Angel to be almost level with the corner, Unit 01 took a step back, sprinted at the corner and a second before entering the crossing street, jumped and grabbed hold of the wall of the hollow building. With its legs in the air, the grip on the building radically altered Unit 01's trajectory, causing it to whip around the edge of the building, crumpling the guide rail and cracking the wall, and its feet to crash into the Angel with bone crushing force, assuming the Angel even had bones. Regardless the impact threw the Angel back over twenty meters before it managed to recover. Unit 01 charged at the Angel, however it wove a defence pattern with its tentacles that Shinji was unable to break through with a short weapon like the Prog-knife.

Shinji fell back to the elevator building, taking temporary cover. Looking around he had a spark of inspiration.

"Rei. Distract it, I need thirty seconds."

Hearing the order, Rei began to get the Angels attention by firing volleys into it as Shinji worked busily. Twenty six seconds after he ducked behind the building, he emerged again. In his hands was his makeshift weapon. He had hacked off the other guide rail from the building, and had secured his Prog-knife to one end, the rail crushed till it held the knife securely, then fastened with wiring. Wielding the improvised Naginata, Shinji managed to cut the Angel several times, in what amounted to fairly substantial wounds, while dodging the whip like tentacles. Not without incident, however. The Angel managed to punch one of its tentacles through Unit 01's right shoulder, and the slice off the bladed end of the weapon. Unit 01 was tossed down the street, the force of the impact shattering the connector on the umbilical power supply.

As the Angel approached the prostrate form of Unit 01, intent on dealing the final blow, a blue and white blur emerged from a side street and crashed into the floating form. Unit 00's initiative ceased quickly, and Shinji could hear Rei's cry of pain as the Angel jammed both of its tentacles into Unit 00, causing the blue and white mecha to stumble back slightly. Rage clouded Shinji's vision.

(Regiment Base, Tokyo 3)

Corporal Michelle Stevens stared in shock down the scope of her Sniper Rifle, as she lay on top of 'Tower 1', one of the buildings the Regiment had retrofitted for their base. Along with two other snipers, she had been assigned to watch and relay the events of the battle, and her assignment was to watch what some had nicknamed the 'Giant Purple People Eater' that held the Colonel.

'Oh Shit.' She said into her throat mike. "Colonel's gone Berserker."

She had heard the reports from the other snipers on Lieutenant Ayanami's ineffective charge and how the Angel responded, and she watched as Unit 01 charged down the Angel, jumped on its floating form, bringing it to the ground and began pummelling it into submission, unmindful of the injuries it sustained in the process.

Michelle had been present the only other time the Colonel had gone berserk, when Katherine Byron had died and he had made that suicidal charge into a heavily fortified bunker, and was saved only by the quick actions of Major Soyru. A call from one of the other snipers brought her attention back to the battle.

(Streets of Tokyo 3)

"Shinji!"

The soft voice on the radio made him pause in his effort to make the Angel pay. An eighth of a second after the call, the head of the now destroyed improvised Naginata blossomed in the Angel's 'neck' as Unit 01 looked up. Shinji saw the battered Unit 00, half leaning against a building and its Progressive Knife flying through the air towards him. Snatching the weapon out of the air, while giving the Angel a short right to the 'face', he activated it and drove it deep into the Angel's core, which after a few seconds cracked and the Angel went silent. Only then did Shinji notice his battery gauge and its flashing ten second countdown.

"Well, that was fun." He said sarcastically before the plug went dark.

(NERV Headquarters)

Shinji let the water run over him, let it wash the LCL along the tiled floor and down the drain in the centre of the row of shower heads. He ignored Rei, who was showering three nozzles to his left.

'I wonder what happened' he asked himself, finally turning off the shower.

He walked out of the shower area and into the locker room, drying himself with a towel. Liz was sitting in the middle of the room in her BDU's with an icepack on her left hand, which was red from having hit Captain Katsuragi unconscious, Liz had just missed the perfect shot to the Captain's jaw as the purple haired woman was having a mild hysterical fit in the middle of the battle, mostly from feeling helpless after Shinji had cut off her transmissions. Shinji reached into his locker, retrieved his dog-tags and began dressing in his BDU's.

'A four minute gap. One second I was on the road, the next Rei was throwing me her Prog-knife. What happened in those four minutes.'

TBC.


	8. Chapter 8

Title: Messing With The Scenario

Author: Knife Hand

Feedback: Constructive feedback appreciated, flames unappreciated

Spoilers: All of Neon Genesis Evangelion (just covering my basses)

Rating: PG-13

Disclaimer: Do not own Eva. I would buy it but I am broke.

Summary: AU. One interpretation of the series where Shinji has a backbone. Set in 2017, because the Angel attacks are delayed for two years.

AN: Major deviation from Eva Cannon. Timeline elements ignored. Characters are OOC for the series. If you don't like this then stop reading now. You have been warned.

AN2: In this Rei is not a Clone and she is not related to Shinji in any way.

" " denotes speech

' ' denotes thought

* * *

"Thirty Seconds!" the solder acting as jumpmaster shouted.

The First and Second squads of Fourth Platoon, Bravo Company shuffled to the door. Rei ran a last check over her combat armour and P90 as she stood by the door, then gave a thumbs up to both the Jumpmaster and Major Hans Soyru.

All of the solders in the plane, and the rest of Alpha and Bravo Companies in the planes around them, were dressed in mat black combat armour, consisting of the latest Kevlar mesh and carbon nanotube technology. This was to be hard and fast street combat, so Shinji had decided against any of the more covert but less armoured camouflage options.

A rebel unit of Russian troops had stolen some Nuclear weapons and were now hiding them in a nuclear power plant in the middle of the Siberian tundra and making demands about handing over control of the UN forces to Russia and, for some strange reason, wanting pink bubblegum (although UN intelligence seems to think that was a miscommunication). Alpha and Bravo, under the command of Major Soyru, had been tasked to jump in and secure key structures within the power station and the surrounding town while the rest of the regiment approached via hovercraft to engage the rebel troops.

"Ten Seconds!"

Rei knew that Major Soyru was there to take over in case she fell apart in battle and would stick with her platoon. The rest of First Battalion had been folded into Second Battalion under the command of Major Hancock for this mission. Rei turned her eyes to the jump light as her hands unconsciously checked the restraining straps on her Sai's were secure.

"Go! Go! Go!" the jumpmaster yelled as the jump light went from flashing red to green.

Rei was the first out of the plane followed closely by Hans. Officers always go first. The rest of the troops quickly filed out, the jumpmaster going last, leaving the troop section of the aircraft empty as the pilots slowly turned their plane back towards base.

* * *

First and Second squads moved quietly through the dark streets behind their Lieutenant and Major. Rei checked her heads up display and the beacons of her Platoon as she led her team to the objective.

"Sergeant White. Take your next left and hook up with Sergeant James' squad and sweep to the southwest as you approach the objective." She ordered.

"Copy." Came Sergeant White's gravelly voice over the radio.

"Understood, Lieutenant." Sergeant James added, her voice controlled.

Rei sent two troopers forward to scout the next corner. One trooper reached the corner and then immediately dived back grabbing his comrade and shouting.

"Contact!"

A few seconds later the corner below up.

"TANK!" the scout called.

"Take cover." Rei ordered.

The squads scattered into the surrounding buildings. The two squads' squad support troopers opened fire with their M249 medium machine guns and one trooper launched a M203 grenade at the tank as it approached. The tank raked one of the buildings with machinegun fire as the turret slowly tracked. Suddenly the turret was propelled into the air in a ball of fire as a result of an M72A5 LAW impacting from the rear.

The First and Second squads emerged from the building to be met by another squad. The seven of the eight troopers had M72 LAW launchers on their back. All eight troopers held an MP5 in their hands and half of an M307 Advanced Crew Served Weapon.

"Lieutenant Ayanami, Major Soyru. I'm Sergeant Qui." The small Chinese Sergeant, the only trooper without a LAW launcher, nodded her head at the two officers. "Third Squad, Fifth Platoon, with Captain Dumont's complements."

Rei nodded to the sergeant from the Heavy Weapons Platoon.

"Willis, your squad's on point. Qui cover the rear. Let's move out." Rei ordered.

* * *

The platoon was set up to hold the South-West Bridge that separated the Nuclear Power station from the city proper, not that there was much separation in these old Cold War era cities. They had established an effective roadblock on the Power station end of the bridge using several concrete road dividers and some cars that they had manhandled across the road. The bridge was the crossing of a river that had been diverted as a barrier between the Nuclear power station and the city, and thus the walls of the river were near vertical, smooth concrete and the ice cold water flowed at a rapid pace, preventing any crossings except at the three bridges, each now held by a Platoon of troopers from the Regiment.

Rei had set half of Sergeant Qui's Heavy Weapons squad in each of the two buildings that flanked the bridge on the power plant side, which were probably designed for just such a purpose. Third squad was stationed with Qui's squad as support and security, in case an enemy tried to storm the buildings. To prevent flanking, Rei had also sent Second and Sixth squads out to set up observation posts in buildings a in an arc a few hundred meters behind their position.

First, Fourth and Fifth squads, except for two troopers, were holed up behind the barricade awaiting either contact with the enemy or the arrival of the rest of the Regiment. Rei was right in the middle of the line, her eyes taking in the eerie green glow that her night vision goggles cast on the world. She saw the occasional flash of an explosion in the distance but the immediate area around the barricade was clear.

"Lieutenant." Major Soyru's voice came over the Officer's only frequency.

Rei took a step back to get off the line, watching for a second as the two troopers on either side adjusted their position to cover her absence. She ran at a crouch to the building on the left flank, her P90 held low. As she entered the door she nodded to the two troopers from First Platoon, who were lowering their own rifles, having raised them at her entry.

"Watts, McNickel." She said in acknowledgement she passed.

She had detailed the two troopers to be security for the Major as he ran coordination efforts for Alpha and Bravo Companies. Rei removed her night vision goggles before slipping past the blackout curtain into the small command post Hans had set up. The command post was lit just well enough to read a map by a single battle lantern.

Rei removed her helmet, she ran her hand through her sweat drenched, pail blue hair. Her normally pail, almost porcelain, complexion was hidden by the dark combat paint that covered her face. In the semi gloom, her red eyes seemed to glow with an almost otherworldly light.

Hans sat wearily in the only chair, his eyes scanning the softly glowing screen of the combat hardened flexi data slate. After a second he looked up, nodding to her.

"Lieutenant, I just received a report from Colonel Ikari." Hans began. "Good news is that we have secured the weapons and that the Colonel and the rest of the Regiment have most of the rebel forces on the run and extraction is expected to begin in about two hours."

"What's the bad news, Sir?" Rei asked.

"Close to a company, with armour, are running directly for this bridge and will be here soon." The Major replied.

"Can we blow the bridge and extract via one of the others?"

"Negative. This is the prime avenue out for the weapons." Hans said, brining up a map on his data slate. "Major Sheridan and Third Battalion will come in across the Western bridge, meet up with Alpha Company at the plant then extract out here. Once they Third confirms pickup, Bravo will collapse the perimeter to here then we all head out to the extraction point, being secured by Second Battalion."

Rei's eyes scanned the map for a minute before she responded.

"Understood Sir." She said before saluting, turning and leaving the blacked out room.

She donned her helmet and sprinted back to her former position on the line.

"What's the word, Lt?" Sergeant Miller, her Platoon Sergeant, asked.

"We've got incoming. Company strength with armour." She replied, causing one trooper to swear quietly. "The power plant and the other bridges are secure, so bring in Second and Sixth squads."

"Rodger, Sir." Miller said, relaying the order.

"We'll need to prep. Send a team to trap the bridge."

"C4?" Miller asked.

"No." Rei replied. "We need the bridge intact. Use Claymores."

"Nuyen, South, Marks, Hussey, Watson. Start setting up the bridge with Claymores." Miller yelled.

The five troopers made sure they had as many Claymores as they could carry before they jumped the barricade and started running to the other end of the bridge.

"Any suggestions?" Rei asked.

"Be a good idea to know exact timing and numbers of the enemy. One of our marksmen in each of those two buildings." Miller said, indicating to two large buildings across the river with clear lines of site on the approach.

"Do it. But they are to haul ass back as soon as they get the confirmation."

Miller nodded and moved down the line, looking for their best two marksmen.

"Alright everyone." Rei said loudly enough to carry. "We need to dig in here for the next two hours."

TBC


	9. Chapter 9

Title: Messing With The Scenario

Author: Knife Hand

Feedback: Constructive feedback appreciated, flames unappreciated

Spoilers: All of Neon Genesis Evangelion (just covering my basses)

Rating: PG-13

Disclaimer: Do not own Eva. I would buy it but I am broke.

Summary: AU. One interpretation of the series where Shinji has a backbone. Set in 2017, because the Angel attacks are delayed for two years.

AN: Major deviation from Eva Cannon. Timeline elements ignored. Characters are OOC for the series. If you don't like this then stop reading now. You have been warned.

AN2: In this Rei is not a Clone and she is not related to Shinji in any way.

" " denotes speech

' ' denotes thought

* * *

Rei placed one of her Sai's through the enemy trooper's eye, using her other one to wrench the knife from another as he tried to stab at her. Sergeant Miller to her right took off the head of three enemy troopers with a swing of his Long Sword. Yanking her Sai out of the now dead man's eye, she looked around and found a few enemies retreating across the bridge, only to be cut down by accurate fire from the buildings flanking the bridge. One managed to make it to the far side, skirting around the two flaming wrecks of tanks that blocked the far end of the bridge.

"Everybody reload." Rei ordered. "Fifth Squad, start clearing bodies from the barricade."

The troopers of Fifth Squad scaled over the barricades and the piled up bodies and began to drag the bodies away and over the edge of the bridge.

"Ammunition status?" Rei asked, pulling the second last full P-90 clip from its webbing and slamming it home into the top of the weapon.

"Low across the board." Miller replied. "I think some are totally out."

"Detail someone to consolidate partial clips. Issue it out to those with the lowest ammo." Rei replied, handing Miller three mostly spent clips for the consolidation effort. "Report on the progress."

"Yes sir." Miller said, shouting orders to hand in partial clips as he went up and down the line.

Rei looked out over the bloody concrete and asphalt of the bridge. They had held out against seven attacks over the last hour and three quarters, the last two of which had made it to the barricade. Shaking her head slightly, she made her way into the left hand building and headed up to see Sergeant Qui.

"Lieutenant." Qui acknowledged with a nod.

Only the members of the Heavy Weapons squads were in the towers. The guarding squad had, for the first few attacks at least, been rotated to ensure that no squad was sitting doing nothing for too long, but after the fourth attack the pressure on the line, and the casualties, made all squads being on the line a priority. Thankfully there were few serious casualties so far and only one fatality. Corporal Margaret South, shot through the eye by a random bullet.

"What's your status?" Rei asked.

"Not good." Qui replied with a shake of her head. "We are down to one LAW and we have only enough ammunition to keep two of the M307's firing for long enough to be effective. I'd say about two minutes if we keep it to short busts in an attack like the last one."

"Recommendations?" Rei asked.

"Target the first big group with the LAW and keep firing till we are dry." Was Qui's wiry response.

"Negative. We need to save that LAW. When the column comes through we'll need it to help clear out those wrecks." Rei replied. "Alright. Leave your two best teams here on the M307's, the rest of your squad I want down on the line. We'll need the extra close in fire. When the M307's run dry, tell your teams to join the line."

"Yes, sir." Qui said, with a salute.

Rei returned the salute and headed back down out of the tower, only to be met by Hans at the bottom of the stairs.

"Package has been picked up. Alpha and Bravo Companies have linked up with Third Battalions and are on route. Second Battalion has been under heavy fire but have secured the extraction point. So, where on the line do you want me?" Hans said with a grin.

"Pick your ground, Sir." Rei replied. "Will you be taking command?"

That was not an expression of doubt or an admission of weakness, it was simply Rei recognising that without the need to co-ordinate the spread out Alpha and Bravo Companies, Hans could now concentrate on the matter at hand.

"The show is all yours, Lieutenant. The escort you provided has joined the line, and I have given my extra ammunition to Sergeant Miller for redistribution. Good thinking that." Hand said.

"Thank you sir." She replied as they left the building for the line.

Like the guard for the Heavy Weapons squad, the security escorts for the Major had been rotated during the day, but she had not rescinded their need. Loosing the Heavy Weapons squad would have been a blow. Loosing the Major would have been a disaster.

Rei resumed her place on the line, right in the middle where she had been for every attack. She glanced at her watch. The convoy was due in ten minutes. Then the cry came. A single individual had appeared on the far side of the bridge, holding his rifle high and screaming his head off. A second later his head disintegrated from a sniper shot. But then a wave of soldiers came around the wrecks of the tanks and charged.

"Pick your targets." Rei ordered, as the M307's opened up from the buildings, followed a second later by the single M249 that still had ammunition, firing from the left end of the line. The oncoming line paused for a second then surged forwards, again slowing slightly when the M16's and P90's on the line opened up. The Claymores were long since expended.

Then the heavy guns ran dry. Firs the M249, the one of the M307's followed a few seconds later by the other M307. The mass of bodies on the bridge surged forwards. The entire Platoon had come to the conclusion long ago, around the time of the second attack, that they were facing more that a single company. Probably closer to Battalion, but from the quality and tactics, most were conscripts with very little training. Still as the English had learned, by bitter experience, during their colonial days, throw enough warm bodies at a barricade and it will eventually fall.

"I'm dry." The call came from a trooper, soon echoed up and down the line.

Rei fired off a last burst, killing two attackers and then her P90 clicked dry. She let it drop, to be supported by its strap to her armour, and pulled her side arm. She could not remember having changed the clip but at the same time knew she was out. The next thing she knew she was replacing the clip on her side arm.

"Melee!" Rei ordered as the enemy host reached the barricades.

An enemy bayonet gouged a furrow in her armour and it started to bleed. She knocked aside the rifle that the bayonet was attached to and shoved one of her Sai's into the soldier's throat. For a second she saw his face and he looked so young, then he was gone and she was parrying an Officer's sabre. Then the momentum of the charge faltered and the balance shifted. This time the rebels learnt the lesson of the Persians' leant at Thermopylae. The troopers were much better close combat fighters and the rebels simply could not get enough fighters to the line to overwhelm the defenders.

Rei was lost in the rhythm of the combat when the entire mêlée was interrupted by a massive bust of fire in the middle of the bridge, followed closely by two more. One second she was fighting and the next the only enemy visible were running across the far end of the bridge, which was now littered with the dead.

Hearing the low rumble, Rei turned and saw a line of APC's behind the barricade, with Academy markings. The APC's had fired incendiary shells onto the bridge.

Rei and Hans stepped away from the line and saluted Shinji who emerged from the second APC. Shinji just looked around the barricade and nodded.

"Good job." Shinji said. "Get your Platoon onto the APC's Lieutenant."

"Qui. Do it." Rei ordered into her radio.

The single remaining LAW missile streaked out of the right hand tower. It was perfectly aimed, hitting the magazine of one of the tank wrecks, blowing it into scrap, giving the APC's a wide enough hole to comfortably move through.

"The bridge is secure and the path is open, Sir." Rei said, before turning to her troopers. "Fourth Platoon, to the APC's."

Rei waited until all her troopers, including Qui's Heavy Weapons squads were mounted before she herself entered one of the APC's with Miller and First Squad.

"How'd she do, old friend?" Shinji asked as he watched Second Platoon of Bravo Company dismantle Fourth Platoon's barricade.

"She did well." Hans replied. "This was all her work. She even integrated Qui's squad well, and you know how Qui is with anything she considers stupid. She was effective, she asked opinions from her NCO's but made her own decisions, and stood at the line the entire time. She earned their respect."

Shinji just nodded as the last of the barricade was dismantled and the troopers moved back to the APC's.

"Let's get out of here, Major."

"Yes, Sir."

* * *

(Nerv Headquarters)

"Please explain why both of my Pilots were absent from Tokyo 3 for a week?" Commander Gendo Ikari asked threateningly, sitting behind his desk with his hands in front of his face.

"You do not have security clearance for that information." Colonel Shinji Ikari replied.

Shinji and Gendo stared at each other across the desk. The Sub-Commander stood in his usual place behind the Commander's desk while Shinji was flanked by Rei and Liz. The three Regiment members were all still dressed in their combat armour and war paint when they had been 'escorted' to see the Commander.

"This facility is humanity's last line of defence against the Angels. If this facility falls then humanity dies." Gendo replied.

"Wake up, Commander. Humanity does not need the Angels to destroy us. We can do that very easily by ourselves. There was a situation and my Regiment was the only unit with the proper training that could be deployed within operational timeframes." Shinji replied. "If you are so worried about an attack with the possibility of the Regiment being deployed, then why not transfer the Second Child and Unit Two from Germany and Unit Three from the US and select a Fourth Child from our class?"

With that Shinji, Rei and Liz did an about face and left.

"How the hell does he know about the other Units and that his class is for final candidates?" Gendo Groused.

"Part logic and part because he has contacts everywhere. He was able to get a full dossier on Rei in five hours… and not our edited one either." Fuyutsuki replied. "He is not an Academy Colonel for nothing."

Fuyutsuki smiled in remembrance. He had taught at the Academy, back in the eighties, before he transferred to Tokyo University in the nineties. Even then the Academy only took the best and brightest.

TBC…


End file.
